


shiny things, paper rings

by codenametargeter



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: College AU, F/F, Modern AU, Modern Royalty, background dimilix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28527387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenametargeter/pseuds/codenametargeter
Summary: As a rule, Dorothea doesn't give anyone who comes to party at Abyss a second glance... or at least she doesn't until the night Ingrid Galatea's at one of her tables. She doesn't have it bad. Shedoesn't.(Yes she does.)
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62





	shiny things, paper rings

Two more hours… just two more hours and then Dorothea’s shift would be over and she’d be free… until tomorrow night when she had to be here again. But for now, all she had to do was make it through two more hours of men leering at her and trying to maneuver themselves so they could catch a look down her shirt and one particularly bold man who slapped her ass. 

“Are you alright, ladybird?” Yuri asked as she made it to the safety of behind the bar.

Dorothea forced herself to smile brightly. “Of course I am!”

Her act didn’t fool him even for a moment. It almost never did. “Did you see who it was?”

“As much as I would like to see dear Baltie toss him out on his rear, he slapped mine in the middle of a crowd so I never saw his face,” Dorothea said. She grabbed at the damp towel on his belt and wiped her hands on it, glad to have at least a few seconds of somewhat clean hands. “I’m fine though, don’t you worry about me, Yurikins.”

“I know you are,” Yuri said, nodding towards a tray of beers. “That’s why I need you to make a run to a table of VIPs for me. I’ve been handling them personally but…” He didn’t need to finish that sentence. Even someone who knew nothing about bars could tell they were slammed even for a Friday. 

Dorothea didn’t even hesitate before saying, “Sure. Are they all the same?”

Yuri nodded. “Yes, one of them ordered a round. They’re up on the second level at the table in the corner.” That was all he needed to say for her to know exactly what he meant. She picked up the tray, shifting it until it was properly balanced before steeling herself to head back into the crowds. “Oh and Dorothea?” Dorothea arched a questioning eyebrow. “Top level discretion. They’ve paid well for it.”

Well now. Wasn’t that intriguing? 

Her mind immediately started to churn wondering who the mysterious VIPs might be. For whatever reason, the town surrounding Garreg Mach University seemed to attract more than its fair share of notable people of varying levels of notoriety. However, she didn’t think that all of them were the type to throw enough money at Yuri to warrant top level discretion. 

She still hadn’t narrowed down her list of possibilities as she approached the back corner and heard them before she saw them, even over the din of the club.

“Sylvain, have you lost your mind?”

“Ingrid, relax! You’re missing the entire point to this exercise.”

“We are supposed to protect him! How can we do that if all of us are incapacitated?”

“This is why I didn’t give you any!”

As the noisy Abyss patrons came to view, suddenly everything managed to both make more sense and was a complete surprise. After all, she didn’t run into royalty in her place of employment every day. 

It wasn’t like she hadn’t known that Prince Dimitri was attending Garreg Mach University. Everyone knew that and Dorothea in particular made it a point to pay attention to those around her who might one day wield significant influence in the world. Royalty, even a family that was mostly a figurehead, certainly fell into that category. This was just the first time she’d ever seen him this close. He was just as handsome as he looked in his pictures with that brilliant blond hair and a chiseled jawline you could cut yourself on. But she had never expected to see him so very obviously high. 

His companions were far less of a surprise as everyone at Garreg Mach knew that at least one of the trio was with the handsome prince at all times. As she understood it, they were all nobility back in Faerghus and they’d grown up alongside the prince. She let her gaze drift to the tallest first: Sylvain Gautier. He had a reputation on campus amongst both the women and a few men for knowing how to have a good time. If she was honest with herself (and she always tried to be), Dorothea had been tempted to make a play for him since they currently shared a business class together and sat a row apart but the time had never seemed right. 

Sitting beside the prince and looking decidedly grouchy despite the arm around his shoulders was Felix Fraldarius. That arm could quite well explain why the rumors about him were the opposite of those about Sylvain. As far as she knew, no one had tapped that flat ass, not even another member of his fencing team. If Dorothea was right, that might be because the Prince of Faerghus had gotten there first. 

Finally, her gaze turned to the lone woman in the group and her heart jumped into her throat. Angry and arguing wasn’t usually her type but it looked damn good on Ingrid Galatea. 

She was leaning halfway across the table almost nose-to-nose with Sylvain, one hand propping her up and the other grasping at his shirt as she glared down at him. Dorothea shamelessly let her eyes drift downwards so she could appreciate how those jeans fit so nicely over Ingrid’s rear and those muscular thighs that she was going to dream about having wrapped around her. The gossip circles, Dorothea decided, had completely and utterly failed her by giving most of their attention to Dimitri and Sylvain and neglecting talk of this absolutely breathtaking woman. She wanted to just stand there and stare at her and maybe fantasize a little about running her fingers through that blonde hair. And those legs. _Those legs._

“Ingrid, it’s fine,” Dimitri said, drawing her attention towards him. “I just needed to relax and--” Anything else he was going to say was cut off by Felix making a noise that coming from anyone else she’d be tempted to call a giggle. Dimitri turned and pressed a kiss to the top of the shorter man’s head. “You could have had some too.”

Ingrid turned to face him. At least half of the irritation in her voice vanished as she said, “Your Highness, your father will have my head if something happens to you because all of us are too--” she looked as if the word pained her, “--high to do our duty.”

This time it was Sylvain who snickered. “Duty.”

“Ugh!” Ingrid exclaimed, straightening up as she threw her hands up in the air and turned to stomp away from the table.

...and directly into Dorothea and her tray of beers. Dorothea was light on her feet; years on the stage and working in a bar had all but ensured that but there was only so much one could do. “Oh!” she said, slipping and grabbing desperately at drinks on her tray in hopes of steadying them.

Lightning fast, Ingrid reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her upright and steadying her tray. “I’m so sorry!” she said and actually looked it. “Are you alright?”

Dorothea offered up her most flirtatious smile and set the tray down on the table. “Much better now that I’ve been saved from falling and getting beer absolutely everywhere by a beautiful knight in shining Burberry.”

Immediately, Ingrid’s cheeks flushed red. “It was my fault you almost fell anyways.”

“I’ll happily share the fault if it means I got to meet you.” She was fairly sure all three of the rich Faerghan boys were staring at them but she found herself unwilling to look away from Ingrid’s eyes to check for herself especially since she was keenly aware that Ingrid hadn’t let go of her hand yet. 

“I…” Apparently, Ingrid seemed to be of a similar mind. 

“Ask her what her name is!” Sylvain very loudly stage-whispered. “And maybe kiss her?”

Dorothea didn’t know Sylvain very well but she suddenly found herself hating him for breaking the spell as Ingrid whirled around to glare at him. “Sylvain!”

But she hadn’t pulled her hand away so Dorothea squeezed it again, drawing Ingrid’s attention back. “I’m Dorothea. Dorothea Arnault.”

“Ingrid Galatea,” Ingrid said like she wasn’t one of the most famous students on campus. And then she raised Dorothea’s hand and pressed her lips to her knuckles. 

Dorothea was not the sort of person who swooned except upon the stage when the script called for it. She thought there was a chance she was going to swoon right then and there. 

Almost immediately, Ingrid turned bright red and dropped her hand. “Oh my goddess. I don’t know why I just-- I am so sorry. That was--”

“Perfectly charming!” Dorothea said as soon as she remembered how words worked. They came out far louder than she’d intended so she swallowed and tried to speak more quietly. “Really. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

“Right,” Ingrid said. “I… uhm…” 

With every passing moment, Dorothea found herself increasingly drawn to the other woman. Even her awkwardness was endearing especially since she hadn’t expected it given her status. _The rich and famous: they’re just like us!_

Before she could do something completely ill-advised like lean forward and kiss her which was absolutely out of the question while she was on the clock, a flurry of commotion from the table beside them commanded both of their attention. “You should’ve told us that before!” Felix said, having pulled away from Dimitri and grabbed a fistful of Sylvain’s shirt.

Sylvain threw his hands up helplessly. “I didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to eat so many your first time.”

Dimitri winced. “That would be my fault.” 

Oh goddess preserve her. Even high, he sounded like a prince. And, if Dorothea was reading the situation correctly, he was much higher than intended and it had mixed with a drink or two. 

“Shit,” Sylvain said.

Whatever romantic moment they were on the verge of having vanished as Ingrid bolted towards them, reaching out and steadying Dimitri with one hand. “You couldn’t have done this and stayed in the apartment?” 

“It was just supposed to be just one hit! You never would have known!” 

“Felix is _giggling_.”

Giggling looked very bizarre on Felix Fraldarius and Dorothea didn’t even know him. Dimitri, on the other hand, seemed to be going the other way and Ingrid was starting to look borderline panicked. Dorothea hadn’t spent years working in a bar (including before the law said she was allowed to) without learning how to think fast on her feet and that was exactly what she did now. Carefully, she set the tray of beers down and slipped into the booth so she could look into the prince’s bloodshot eyes. “How many did you eat, Your Highness?”

“Too many,” Dimitri said forlornly. 

Felix leaned around him and said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “He can’t taste them.”

“Felix!” Ingrid said, now _definitely_ looking panicked. 

Dorothea turned towards her. “I’m assuming the usual paparazzi followed you here because this isn’t campus?”

“How do you…” Ingrid furrowed her brow. “Are you a student too?”

“Guilty as charged.” Dorothea slid back out of the booth and laid a hand on the other girl’s arm. “Listen, there’s a door that’ll let you into the alley out back. Only the staff know about it and use it. They won’t see him if you go out through there.”

In an extremely matter of fact tone, Ingrid said, “If you’re planning on using this to make some quick cash whether it be via blackmail or this being a trap…”

Instantly, Dorothea felt herself bristle at the underlying implication but she made herself take a deep breath. Ingrid didn’t know her. She was just a pretty face slinging beers. She took another before she spoke again. “This is Abyss. If Yuri says you have our discretion, you have our discretion.” 

“Who is Yuri?”

Sylvain answered before she could. “He’s the purple haired guy who was bringing us drinks before. He owns this whole place.” 

Not everyone knew that. Dorothea’s eyebrows raised. “You’re well informed.”

He grinned, looking far more casual than anyone else at the table. “I make it a point to know about all the bars and clubs here. Never know when it’ll be handy.” 

“Ingrid,” Dorothea said softly, drawing the other woman’s eyes back towards her. “You can trust me. I promise.”

Time seemed to slow down as Ingrid gave her another one of those evaluating stares before at last, she extended a hand behind her without looking. “Sylvain.” 

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it. I’m not as high as them,” the red head said, digging his wallet out, pulling out some cash, and then sliding out of the booth, dragging Felix with him. “Come on, up you go, Fe. You too, Your Highness.”

The prince managed to look pained as Ingrid helped him. “Sylvaaaaain.” 

Swallowing a giggle, Dorothea nodded towards the back. “This way. There’s a lift that only the staff uses for the most part.”

It turned out that Dimitri was somehow both taller and broader than he looked in the pictures and Sylvain’s shoulders took up their fair share of space too which meant the lift was a tight squeeze for the five of them but it seemed smarter to squish than to split up. Dorothea flattened herself against the metal doors as tightly as she could but there was still no way she could avoid pressing against Ingrid. For the briefest moment, their eyes met but just as quickly, Ingrid blushed and looked away. She didn’t try to move though and Dorothea wasn’t sure if it was by choice or because there wasn’t anywhere to go. 

As soon as the doors behind her slid open, Dorothea leapt backwards lightly, beckoning for them to follow. “We just have to get behind the bar and then the hard part’s done.” 

Yuri’s eyebrows shot up as soon as he saw the trail of Faerghan ducklings in her wake. “Ladybird, this wasn’t what I meant when I said--”

“I know,” Dorothea said, placing a guiding hand on Dimitri’s back and then pushing him somewhat less than gently in the direction of the curtain that blocked their backroom from the public’s view. Ingrid pursed her lips but followed, dragging Felix with her. Dorothea pressed a fleeting kiss to Yuri’s cheek and said, “Just trust me, okay?”

“Mm,” Yuri said in the tone that meant she’d have some explaining to do later. She just wasn’t entirely sure whether the handful of bills Sylvain pressed into his hand before he followed her into the back was going to make that a longer or a shorter list. 

The other Faerghans lingered just behind the curtain and Ingrid had a hand on each of the boys’ arms like she was scared they’d run off if she didn’t. “I wasn’t sure where to go,” she said.

Dorothea kept her tone teasing and said, “Not much experience in the backrooms of bars, I take it?”

Ingrid shook her head. “Not really, no.”

“This way,” she said, squeezing past them to take the lead again. Not that it was far. Most of the space in Abyss was dedicated to either the club itself or storage for the alcohol. Even Yuri’s office was barely large enough to turn around in. It was only a few seconds more before she pushed open the heavy door, shivering as soon as the cold air hit her face. Out of habit, she kicked a brick over so it would prop the door open. 

None of the others seemed to mind the chilly temperature. She guessed that made sense; Faerghus was supposed to be a frozen hellscape that she had absolutely no desire to visit unless someone agreed to fund a warmer wardrobe for her first. Self-consciously, she tried not to think what a damned mess her sneakers must look like. They’d already seen better days _before_ she’d started wearing them to work. Instead, Dorothea fixed a bright smile to her face as she turned to face the quartet. “If you go that way,” she said, pointing with her right hand, “it’ll take you further away from the front of Abyss.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Dorothea,” Sylvain said with a dramatic sigh of relief. 

Ingrid jabbed him sharply in the ribs with an elbow. “Yeah, _you’re_ not exactly out of trouble yet.”

“I’ll buy us pizza when we get back home?”

She stared at him silently.

“Okay, I will buy pizza for all of us and one will be for you specifically.”

Still silence.

“And wings?”

“Better,” Ingrid muttered, brushing by him to come stand in front of Dorothea. Her entire demeanor changed immediately and she seemed almost… awkward. “Dorothea… I… thank you. Is there anything I can do to--”

Oh she knew where that was going. “That’s not necessary,” she said, taking a step backwards and letting her bright smile become a more fixed one she’d had to perfect long ago. “You can thank me by convincing your giggly friend over there to never get this high in public again.”

It wasn’t entirely clear to any of them whether she was referring to Felix, Dimitri, or both.

The corner of Ingrid’s mouth twitched upwards. “Yeah. That’s the plan.” 

“Then I’m glad to have met you tonight. Do say hello if you’re ever at Abyss again,” Dorothea said, turning before she could say anything more and get herself into trouble. There had been a mutual spark of attraction between them but it didn’t necessarily mean anything. She knew her place in this story and it ended here. 

From behind her, she heard a scuffle of movement followed by Sylvain whispering very unquietly, “Just _ask her_ already!”

“Dorothea, wait!” Ingrid jogged after her and caught up just as she pulled the back door open again and kicked the brick free. She drew to a stop two feet away, cheeks flushed. “If I uhhh wanted to call you. To say thank you. Or maybe get a coffee or…”

Before she could think of a reason not to, Dorothea rattled off her phone number and then slipped back inside Abyss, giving Ingrid one last smile. Only when the door was firmly shut behind her did she lean against it and exhale loudly. 

Well. So much for that. The chances that Ingrid would remember the hastily given digits were slim to none. She shouldn’t have bothered to give them to her. It was ridiculous really: she knew nothing about Ingrid except that she was rich and had a great ass. And Ingrid knew even less about her except that she was a waitress. She wasn’t going to call. This was probably going to be nothing but a funny story she’d tell in a decade or two when Dimitri took the throne of Faerghus. Dorothea could live with that.

This was just a fleeting crush. She’d be over it in a few days. She always was. But for now, she needed to give Yuri an explanation for why she’d herded four customers behind the bar and out the back and she had the rest of her shift to work. Thoughts of beautiful girls would have to wait.

Still, when Dorothea rolled over in bed the next morning and saw a text from an unfamiliar number that merely read, _Thank you -IBG_ , she couldn’t help but smile. 

~

The second time Dorothea met Ingrid, she very quickly discovered what exactly duty and protecting the prince meant. 

About five days after The Incident, she spotted Ingrid walking with Dimitri across the courtyard and in retrospect, she should have known it was a bad idea to approach a girl she barely knew from behind but she appeared to be unable to think straight around this girl. So instead, Dorothea wound her way through the crowd, placed a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder and opened her mouth to say hello. The next second, she was on the ground looking up at the sky. 

“Oh goddess!” Ingrid exclaimed, immediately kneeling down beside her and checking her over. “Dorothea, I am so sorry! Are you hurt?”

“Only my pride. What on earth do they feed you up there in Faerghus?” Dorothea asked, shaking her head as she sat up. 

“Mostly meat and the occasional vegetable,” said Dimitri as he bent to offer both of them a hand up. In the light of day, he was just as handsome and possibly even more charming. “This is entirely my fault, I’m afraid.” 

Ingrid shook her head. “Your Highness, please. I’m the one who overreacted.”

“Because of training you had to take because of me.”

“We all volunteered for it.”

“To help me.”

Dorothea looked back and forth between them. Their conversation felt like a tennis match where both players knew where the other was going to hit the ball and only the spectators were in the dark. “I seem to be missing something?”

The two Faerghan nobles exchanged looks, holding a silent conversation in microexpressions before Dimitri nodded once, clearly granting permission, and Ingrid said, “I am one of His Highness’s bodyguards when he is here on campus.”

“In addition to being one of my oldest friends,” Dimitri said. That part seemed very important to him.

Dorothea furrowed her brow. “Then are Sylvain and Felix…”

Ingrid nodded. “Similarly trained.” 

The prince looked somewhat uncomfortable with the conversation. “Really, it’s all highly unnecessary. I have no desire to be anything but another student here at Garreg Mach.” He frowned ever so slightly. “Forgive me, have we met? You look familiar.”

“Not formally,” Dorothea said, glancing towards Ingrid who once again looked uncomfortable. “I offered some assistance on Friday. At Abyss.” 

“Oh!” Dimitri flushed. “My apologies that you had to be a part of that. It was perhaps not the smartest choice I’ve ever made.” 

“Well we are at university. Bad choices are expected of us.” She extended a hand before she could overthink it. “Dorothea Arnault. Pleased to meet you officially, Your Highness.” 

Thankfully, he took it and shook her hand like a normal person. “Dimitri Blaiddyd. The pleasure is all mine. Ingrid and I were headed to get a cup of coffee. Would you like to join us?” 

She blinked. “I uhh…”

“Really, it’s the least I can do after everything.” 

Dorothea turned to look at Ingrid and asked sotto voce, “Is he always this effortlessly charming? Do they teach it in prince school or something?”

“He’s always been like this,” Ingrid said before her smile turned somewhat hesitant. “You don’t have to join us if you’re busy but… I’d like it if you did.” 

“How can I say no then?” Dorothea said. 

Dimitri smiled. “Excellent! Shall we then?”

Somehow, Dorothea found herself walking in between them which felt strange to say the least. And while she was no stranger to having people’s eyes on her, she was usually on the stage when that happened. If this was what it was like for them every day… At least today hadn’t been one of the rare occasions when she hadn’t had enough time to put herself together in the morning. Her thrifted clothes and purse were nowhere near as posh as either of the Faerghans’ outfits but she knew how to make what she had work for her. And she hadn’t spent a weekend’s tips on her leather jacket for nothing.

Blessedly, it was a short walk barely even worthy of being called a walk over to the coffee shop. It wasn’t crowded this early in the afternoon. Most of the students were either getting lunch or saving their own caffeine runs for later in the day. 

“Ingrid, the usual?” Dimitri asked. The blonde nodded and he turned to Dorothea. “What can I get you?”

“Oh that’s not--” There was something about the look in his blue eyes that made her cut herself off mid-sentence. “A chai would be lovely, thank you.” 

Dimitri nodded and moved towards the register, pulling out his wallet and his phone. Meanwhile, Ingrid tapped her arm and nodded towards the back. “Let’s grab a table?” She waited until they were both settled before she said, “I can only imagine what sort of person you must think I am given how we keep meeting.”

“Do you mean someone who clearly cares about their friends?” Dorothea asked before deliberately adding a teasing note to her voice. “Oh I couldn’t possibly like someone like that!” 

Ingrid blushed an even deeper shade of pink than before. “Someone has to keep an eye on them. Especially Sylvain.” 

“A troublemaker, that one?”

“You have no idea.” 

Smoothing down her dress’s skirt, Dorothea asked, “So I take it from your text that you all got home?” 

She nodded. “Felix almost throttled Sylvain the next morning but Dimitri convinced him not to.”

Dorothea knew it probably wasn’t a good idea but she’d always enjoyed prodding when she shouldn’t so she asked, “Does that a lot, does he?”

For someone not trained as an actor, Ingrid was good at suppressing her emotion but Dorothea still caught the tightening of her jaw before she managed to turn it into a more casual expression. “The four of us grew up together so some days, we feel more like family than just friends.” 

That was something she filed away to poke at for another day. “It’s nice that you have each other.” And then she didn’t know what to say. Which was odd because Dorothea _always_ knew what to say or, even if it wasn’t the right thing to say, she at least knew _something_ to say. That was the only excuse she had for asking, “So do you come here often then?”

Ingrid frowned in confusion. “Sorry?”

Well. She was committed to the subject now. “This coffee shop, I mean. Since His Highness knows your usual order.” 

“Oh. Yes. I mean, no,” Ingrid stumbled over her response. “I don’t think any of us are here any more than anyone else on campus. I just always get the same thing and Dimitri could probably order for all of us at half a dozen places.” 

The way she talked so casually about ‘us’ pulled at something inside Dorothea. She wondered what it must be like to have people like that in your life who were always there no matter what. And it wasn’t even something she could wave off as being a rich person thing either. Some bonds apparently went deeper than money.

She was saved from having to say anything further by the prince himself with four coffee cups in his large hands. “Here we are,” Dimitri said, placing them down on the table and then sliding them in front of the appropriate person, keeping the other two in front of him. “Dorothea, I took a guess regarding soy milk for yours. If that’s not--”

“It’s perfect, thank you,” Dorothea cut him off with a smile. 

He seemed to relax the tiniest bit as he took a seat, holding his own cup of what smelled like chamomile tea between both of his large hands. “So do I have it right that you’re an opera singer?”

Both of Dorothea’s eyebrows shot up and she turned just in time to see Ingrid blush. Goddess, did she make blushing adorable. She wasn’t going to grow tired of that sight any time soon. “And which of my shows did you find in your google search?”

“I… a few of them,” Ingrid mumbled into her latte. “I don’t really know opera all that well. You were really good though.”

“I’m even better live. You should come to a show sometimes,” Dorothea said, shifting straight into shameless flirting. “You too, Your Highness. Felix and Sylvain too if he promises to behave.”

“Good luck making that happen,” interjected a new voice. Speak of Felix Fraldarius and apparently he appeared. He looked precisely as grouchy as he had the other night and thankfully, one hundred percent less giggly. 

“Oh, Felix!” Dimitri said with a bright smile. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Felix frowned. “What? You just texted-” And then he sighed. “Whatever. Dimitri, I need to talk to you.” 

“Is it important?” Dimitri asked so innocently she almost believed him.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a very good acting partner. Felix said, “Yeah. Sure.”

Almost imperceptibly, the corners of Ingrid’s mouth twitched downwards before she gathered herself to stand. Dimitri shook his head. “No, please stay and enjoy your coffee. I insist. Dorothea, it was a pleasure to see you again.” 

“Likewise, Your Highness,” Dorothea said.

He smiled. “Please, for any friend of Ingrid’s, it’s just Dimitri.” 

Felix rolled his eyes, nodded curtly to both women, and then grabbed the prince’s arm and dragged him towards the coffee shop’s door, accepting the mysterious fourth coffee cup and drinking from it.

Dorothea watched the two men make their way out before she turned back to Ingrid and said, “Why do I get the distinct feeling we were just set up by the Crown Prince of Faerghus?”

Ingrid groaned and dropped her head to the table. “Because we just were. Dorothea, I am so sorry.” 

“Why are you apologizing?” Dorothea asked, reaching out and gently laying a hand on her arm. “I’m certainly not bothered and anyways it was my fault for startling you earlier.”

She didn’t look up. “Because I was going to text you to see if you wanted to-- and then everything got busy and I didn’t. And now you know that I _googled you_ and everything.”

Squeezing, Dorothea said, “My dear Ingrid, I’d be distraught if you hadn’t. At least tell me if you found my Instagram and saw the last selfie I posted there.” 

Painfully slowly, Ingrid raised her head back up. “I… yes. I did. Dark red looks good on you.” 

Her boobs had also looked incredible in that picture but she knew better than to mention that right now. “Well aren’t you sweet to say that,” she said, straightening back up and flicking her hair back behind her shoulder. “And you should know that I would’ve looked you up on social media too if everyone on campus didn’t already know who you are.” 

“Sylvain’s the only one of us who really uses his.” Ingrid seemed to be relaxing somewhat. “Mine’s mostly just got pictures of my-- it’s got maybe three selfies. I almost never post there.” 

“Selfies are far more fun when you take them with someone else,” said Dorothea with a wink. “Here, where’s your phone? I’ll show you what I mean.”

Her hand was halfway to her bag before she paused. “Why mine?”

There were two answers she could give. Sure, she _could_ have said it had to do with power, plain and simple. If the picture was on Ingrid’s phone, she had the power to post it, to delete it, or whatever she wanted and Dorothea was trying to put the other girl at ease and not make her think she was trying to use her. But instead, Dorothea said, “Because I bet your phone’s newer than my positively ancient one and so it has a better camera.”

“And that… matters?”

“Oh my dear Ingrid, of course it does! Here,” she held out her hand expectantly. “May I?” 

“I…” Ingrid glanced away before carefully placing her phone in her palm. “Okay. Why not?”

Perfect. Dorothea quickly flicked it over to the camera app and then scooted her chair around the table next to Ingrid’s. “It’s all about finding the right angle…” she said, holding the phone up and shifting it around until she was satisfied that it was portraying them both in the most flattering light. She took three in rapid succession out of habit before bringing the phone down where they both could see the screen. “Here, do you like any of these?” 

Furrowing her brow, Ingrid swiped back and forth through them a few times before settling on the third. “This one seems a little better than the others.” 

All it took was another few swipes and clicks for Dorothea to crop it and then apply the most appropriate filter. “Here. And now you can post it later, if you want,” she said as she handed back the phone. “So. You don’t know much about selfies and social media. And I’m guessing you’re not reeeeally the go out clubbing type.”

“You’re two for two so far,” Ingrid said, raising her coffee to her lips.

“Ooo are you doing to make me guess?” Ingrid shrugged and so Dorothea leaned back in her seat, tapping one finger against the lid of her coffee cup. “Hmm, I’m going to guess that you’re a reader. Fantasy novels about brave knights and dashing ladies?”

“Three for three.” There was a bit of a blush on her cheeks if Dorothea wasn’t mistaken. 

“And then… It’s one of those rich people sports, isn’t it?” Judging by how Ingrid’s eyes flicked to the side, she’d probably error by calling them that but it also meant she was right. “I bet it’s not fencing since Felix is on the team and you don’t seem like a boat person so it must be…” She snapped her fingers. “Riding! You ride horses!”

Ingrid nodded. “Either you did a lot of snooping online about me or you’re very good at this.”

“The painfully honest truth is that your prince is the only one I’ve ever really done all that much gossip reading on,” Dorothea said with a hint of an apology in her smile. “We’re not immune to the allure of the occasional royal story even in Adrestia.”

“Doesn’t Adrestia have a royal family too?”

“Yes but that’s beside the point!”

“What was the point?”

Dorothea fixed Ingrid with one of her most charming smiles and said, “Tell me about your horse, Miss Galatea.”

Ingrid’s eyes lit up like stars. “Well, she’s a dappled grey mare named Este but that’s short for her show name which is Swift Thunder. She’s the sweetest horse I’ve ever ridden in my life but she’s got so much energy when she wants to.”

Admittedly, Dorothea didn’t know much about horses except that they were large and could bite on you if you weren’t careful. But there was something about the way Ingrid talked about hers that was absolutely entrancing. For the first time, she thought that maybe there was something to that whole bond between horse and rider all those books used to go on about. It took a few minutes more but eventually, Dorothea finally figured out what the actual change in Ingrid was: this was what she looked like when she was happy and let her mask drop. And she was increasingly sure that she’d do just about anything to see that smile again.

“Do you know how gorgeous you are when you smile?” Dorothea asked, the question slipping out as Ingrid showed her a picture of herself and Este.

“Oh!” Ingrid’s cheeks tinged pink. “It’s just a good picture.”

Dorothea shook her head. “No, I don’t mean just in the picture. I mean how you look right now when you talk about something that makes you happy.” Ingrid only flushed redder and Dorothea quickly reached across the table to lay a hand on hers. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re not.” Dorothea arched one eyebrow, a talent she had worked very hard to cultivate thank you very much, which in turn made Ingrid shrug guilty. “Okay, fine maybe a little. I’m just not used to people saying things like that. Not to me.” 

“Why ever not?”

Shifting in her seat but not moving her hand from beneath Dorothea’s, Ingrid said, “I’m usually with Dimitri or Sylvain. They’re the ones people always notice. Which is fine. I don’t want the sort of attention that Dimitri has to deal with all of the time. I just…” She shrugged again. 

There was no choice but for Dorothea to turn on her most charming smile. “Well, if we ever go on a date, I’m afraid you’ll simply have to get used to me telling you how positively stunning you are at every opportunity.” 

Ingrid’s eyebrows raised. “Does this not count as one? A date, I mean?”

And that was how Dorothea Arnault somehow got a _second_ date with Ingrid Galatea when she hadn’t even realized she’d gotten the first. 

~

The third time that Dorothea saw Ingrid was also the one where she knew she had completely utterly and hopelessly fallen in love with Ingrid Galatea and they hadn’t even gone on a real date yet. 

They didn’t even speak. Dorothea was walking with Yuri on campus. They’d just finished up their standing lunch date and Yuri, more of a gentleman than he liked to let on, was walking her to her next class so they could finish their conversation. 

“Isn’t that that Faerghan rich girl you swooped in to save the other week?” Yuri asked out of nowhere.

Dorothea’s head snapped around. “Where?”

He nodded towards a building across the courtyard. “Over there in the black riding boots. Talking to Gautier.”

She thought she had been unprepared for the sight of Ingrid in form fitting jeans. She was _completely_ unprepared for the sight of Ingrid in what she could only assume was riding attire. If she’d thought those jeans had done wonderful things for Ingrid’s ass, they had nothing on the tan riding breeches with twin darker suede patches on each thigh that made her mind go to entirely indecent places. Even the knee-height black boots were doing it for her especially in contrast to what a bright white her perfectly pressed blouse was. Everything about the outfit should have seemed painfully archaic but instead it made her knees so weak that she unconsciously reached out to grab at Yuri’s arm.

Smirking that irritatingly knowing smirk, he said, “Well. That answers that then.”

“She said she rode horses,” Dorothea said, unable to tear her eyes away. “But I didn’t think it meant outfits like that.”

“You have it bad, ladybird.”

That did the trick. She looked over at him. “I am simply admiring a beautiful woman.” 

“I’ve seen you admire beautiful people before. They’ve never made you stop in your tracks like this.” 

“Well can you blame me?”

Yuri snorted. “No, I suppose not.” He hesitated, laying a hand on hers. “Just be careful, alright?” 

Both of Dorothea’s eyebrows shot up. “Careful? Whatever of?”

“She’s rich.”

Dorothea laughed. “I know how to handle rich people, Yurikins.” 

“There’s a difference between just plain rich and noble. You should know that.” 

He was right. She did know. But she still said, “I’m not going to get myself in trouble. Not with her.”

Yuri said, “Famous last words, ladybird. But all right. I trust your judgement.” 

“Thank you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek and resuming their walk since Ingrid and Sylvain had moved out of sight and she couldn’t just stare at her rear anymore.

What he left unsaid was that he’d have her back if it ever came to that. She wasn’t exactly sure what Yuri, a nightclub owner, would do if a noble girl broke her heart but at least she knew he cared. It was more than she could have hoped for back in the day.

~

Their second date went far more smoothly than their unexpected first one. Dorothea was convinced it was because they actually planned this one. 

It started in an art museum not far from campus. They had an exhibit of the work of one of the few painters to ever sit in residence in the Faerghan, Adrestian, and Alliance courts. The exhibit was only scheduled to stay in Garreg Mach for a limited time and when it had come up during their texts back and forth, it had seemed the perfect place. 

Conversation between them flowed far more easily this time as they wandered from room to room. It was somewhere around the fourth painting that Dorothea discovered she loved it when Ingrid laughed even more than when she smiled. Every time their hands brushed, she found herself wishing that Ingrid would take her hand and press a kiss to her fingers again. Maybe Yuri had been right: she had it bad and she was falling harder every time this woman smiled at her, lighting up the world like stars in the sky. 

They hadn’t talked about anything more than just the museum when they’d planned the day but it still felt perfectly natural when Ingrid took her hand and led her to a hole in the wall restaurant nearby that Dorothea had never noticed before and turned out to serve the best burgers she’d had in a long time. 

“It feels like no one knows about this place,” Ingrid said between large bites of cheeseburger. “I don’t get why not. It’s cheap and it’s good and I’d be here every day if I didn’t know how bad it would be for me.” 

Dorothea ate hers a bit more slowly. “Honestly, I’m shocked more people on campus aren’t here all the time.”

“I think it’s just far enough away,” said Ingrid before she shoved her overflowing basket of fries towards here. “You have to try some of these. Trust me.”

She didn’t really need to be convinced. 

She’d also never been more disappointed that she had to end a date because her work shift started soon.

They both lingered at the street corner where their paths had to diverge. Ingrid seemed nervous, chewing on her bottom lip. “I know you said you work on the weekends but uhm… Would you want to come over on Tuesday night?” 

Well. She certainly hadn’t expected that. “Like to your apartment?” Dorothea asked.

Ingrid nodded. “Yeah. I was thinking we could order take out and watch a movie or something. Unless that’s too forward? Am I being too forward?” 

“The perfect amount of forward,” Dorothea hastened to reassure her. 

“So. Uhm. Is that a yes?”

“That’s a yes,” Dorothea said. “I’m so sorry but I really do have to run now or else Yuri will be ever so cranky at me.” 

“It’s okay,” Ingrid said. “I’ll text you the address and everything.” 

“Perfect!” Impulsively, she leaned forward to brush a quick kiss to the other girl’s cheek before retreating just as quickly, walking backwards. “Tuesday then!”

Her coworkers spent the entire shift teasing her for how noticeably lovestruck she was but somehow, Dorothea couldn’t bring herself to be bothered. She was just too happy.

~

That lasted until Monday afternoon.

“Dorothea. Hi.” 

Pressing one hand to her chest, Dorothea looked first to one side and then the other, gasping in mock shock. “ _The_ Sylvain Gautier is speaking to me? _To me?!_ ”

Sylvain smirked, clearly seeing right through her over the top act. “I know. It’s an honor and privilege. Are you busy right now?” 

Technically no but this was her only free hour between the end of classes and her time in the studio and she guarded that desperately needed relaxation time ferociously but something told her that he wasn’t going to take no as an answer so she said, “I can spare a few minutes.” 

“Good,” Sylvain said. “Let’s go outside, okay?” 

Well. That was ominous. Once they were outside of the classroom and the building entirely, she said, “If this is about the other night in Abyss, I already gave Ingrid my word that-”

“It’s not,” he cut her off. “Well.” He grinned lopsidedly in a way she suspected most women found charming. “Not exactly. It is about Ingrid though.” 

Dorothea smiled at him, the small carefully practiced, neutral smile she’d perfected over the years. Ingrid had her mask and so did she. Like knew how to recognize like. “Oh?”

“She mentioned you’re coming over tomorrow night.”

“You’re roommates?”

“Yeah,” Sylvain said, stretching his hands up behind his head. “The four of us all live together. One big happy family.”

“Sounds cozy.”

“It’s the penthouse.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes and looked almost dangerous as he held her gaze, clearly looking for something but her own mask held. “Ingrid’s not really the type of person to date.”

“The opposite of you then?”

“Oh I don’t date either,” Sylvain said. “I’m really more of the one night stand sort of person much to Ingrid’s chagrin. It’s not really her thing and she thinks it shouldn’t be anyone’s, especially with how close we are to His Highness. She doesn’t like the idea of any of us trying to use us against him.”

“I don’t blame her,” Dorothea said, even though she had a sinking suspicion about where this just might be going. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around her as a shield of sorts. “Is this the part where you tell the poor girl from Adrestia to stay away from someone like Ingrid because we’re worlds apart and it would never work between us?”

Sylvain shook his head. “Not exactly, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I am not your sweetheart,” Dorothea said, letting a little bit of sharpness creep into her voice. 

“Dorothea then,” he said with a nod that was probably the closest she’d get to an apology for that. Or at least that’s what she thought. “Look, I know I’m about to sound like an ass but I care about Ingrid more than the people who I share blood with so I’m gonna take it kinda personally if someone breaks her heart.”

She could hear the implied threat despite how he prefaced it. Subtle Sylvain Gautier apparently was not. It was enough to set her teeth on edge and for a minute, she thought that maybe Yuri had been right and that dating someone who came from that sort of money and power was more trouble than it was worth. But then she remembered how Ingrid had smiled at her as she’d walked away and doubled down on her resolve to give this all a real chance. “Not all of us set out to break women’s hearts.” 

“Good,” Sylvain said, smiling broadly. “Great.” 

Both of her eyebrows shot upwards. “What? That’s it?” 

He shrugged, stepping backwards away from her with his usual carefree smile in place. “I’ll see you in class, yeah?”

Dorothea watched him go for a moment before shaking her head and turning away. She supposed it was sweet that he cared that much but at the same time, it made her want to slap him especially given how starkly it stood in contrast to how Dimitri had treated her. Were all Faerghans this… odd or was it just the super rich ones? “If Felix Fraldarius says something about all this to me next, I may have to scream,” she said to the air.

~

The minute Dorothea stepped into the lobby of Ingrid’s apartment building on the evening of their third date, she almost turned around and walked right back out again. No matter how hard she wanted it, this would never be her world.

“Can I help you, miss?” a man behind a desk asked her before she could reach the door.

She swallowed hard and then plastered a smile on her face. “I’m here to visit a friend of mine. Ingrid Galatea.”

“And your name?”

“Dorothea Arnault.”

There was a painfully long pause before he nodded. “Ah, yes. Miss Galatea said we should expect you. I’ll unlock the penthouse elevator for you.” 

“Thank you,” Dorothea said, trying not to let the sheer opulence of the lobby overwhelm her. _You performed in opera houses fancier than this back in Enbarr. Get a hold of yourself._ The shine and gleam extended to the elevator which definitely was not doing anything to calm her nerves.

And then when the doors finally opened to reveal the penthouse… she had no idea how to feel. It both was and wasn’t what she would have expected from royalty. On the one hand, it was definitely less ostentatious than any of the pictures she’d seen of the palaces in Faerghus and Adrestia which made sense. In theory, this was only temporary since university didn’t last forever and she doubted even House Blaiddyd would go through the effort to own property here for more than a few years. At the same time, the wealth was obvious if you knew where to look even if it did look more lived in than most rich people’s homes. It was blatant enough to make her feel awkward about her thrifted leather jacket and decided not designer boots that were one snowstorm away from disintegrating. Yeah. This girl was definitely out of her league.

“Hello?” she said cautiously to the seemingly empty room, unwilling to move any further in than the entry away.

“Oh! You’re here!” Ingrid’s voice exclaimed from somewhere deeper inside the apartment before her blonde head popped out from one of the hallways and she half ran, half slid to a stop in front of her. “Sorry, William usually lets us know before he sends someone up.”

Dorothea shook her head. “No need to apologize.” She nodded towards the pile of shoes by the elevator door that looked like it had once started life as neat rows. “Boots off, I take it?”

Ingrid nodded. “If you don’t mind. It’s a Dimitri and Felix thing. Well, mostly a Felix thing.” 

“Thankfully my socks today have no holes in them,” Dorothea said as she bent to unzip her boots and deposited them neatly to one side of the mountain. “So. Not exactly a university dorm room then?”

“It’s ridiculous, I know,” Ingrid said, reaching for her hand and leading her deeper into the penthouse and revealing a well furnished living room and kitchen that actually look like university students live there and use them. “But King Lambert insisted and Dimitri tries to pick his battles so here we are.” 

A moment later, Ingrid seemed to realize she was still holding Dorothea’s hand and flushed as she let go. It seemed a shame so Dorothea linked their arms together and said lightly, “Do I get a tour?” 

It didn’t actually take all that long. Penthouse or not, it was still an apartment. Just a very large one. Ingrid just gestured towards the hallways where bedrooms were for the four of them but kept her language vague enough that Dorothea had to wonder whether Dimitri and Felix actually had separate rooms or if they shared one but she knew better than to ask especially after her… conversation with Sylvain. 

“Pizza’s still okay?” Ingrid asked as they looped back around to the kitchen and she poured them both glasses of water. She was dressed far more casually today than when Dorothea had seen her before with a flannel shirt that looked incredibly comfortable and jeans that still showed off her figure and hugged her rear. This was, Dorothea had a feeling, much closer to the real Ingrid than the version who felt she had to look perfectly put together while in the public eye. 

“It’s perfect,” said Dorothea with her most reassuring smile. 

“Good because it should be here soon.” Ingrid wrinkled her nose. “Okay so maybe I should’ve waited to make sure but I was really hungry and I didn’t want that to turn into hangry so…” She shoved her hands into her front pockets. “Sorry, I’m just nervous. I don’t go on dates all that much. Especially not here.”

For a moment, Dorothea thought about just saying something that was nothing really but instead, she shifted closer and said, “Honestly? I’m nervous too.”

Ingrid blinked. “Really?”

“Really.” 

Their eyes locked together and for the first time, Dorothea was close enough to see that both of their eyes were green, just different shades. Perhaps, she could have looked away if she wanted but she didn’t. Instead, she slowly raised one of her hands up to tuck blonde hair behind Ingrid’s ear, fingers lingering. Ingrid didn’t pull away not even as Dorothea drew closer. 

And then a loud buzzing sound made them both start.

“That must be the pizza,” Ingrid breathed, clearly reluctant to pull away. “I should… go get it…”

Dorothea wasn’t exactly in a hurry either but she still said, “Can’t have you getting hangry on me…” 

“I’ll be right back,” Ingrid said before stepping away and fleeing towards the elevator.

After a few moments, Dorothea let out her breath in a rush of air and turned to press both of her hands against the kitchen counter. She currently had a deep irrational hatred for whatever delivery person had decided to arrive right then and there because she was fairly sure they’d just interrupted what should have been their first kiss. It wasn’t like she’d been daydreaming about it for days now… at least a week. Absolutely not. That would have been… Ugh. Apparently, she couldn’t even convincingly lie to herself about this. She’d absolutely been daydreaming about kissing Ingrid and she had been since the night that they’d first met. Yuri had been right: she had it bad. 

“Left you alone already, did she?” 

She just barely stopped herself from jumping out of her skin. Felix Fraldarius apparently moved as silently as a cat. “The pizza got here.” 

He snorted. “Typical Ingrid.” 

There wasn’t really much of a response she could make to that so Dorothea settled on just shrugging. After a second, he brushed past her to open the fridge and grab two cans of something from it, cracking one open and taking a swig from it before turning back around the way he’d come. Dorothea just stared at him. “That’s it?”

Felix paused. “What?”

“No warning me off of Ingrid or trying to help set us up?”

“Why would I do that?” Felix asked. “You’re already on a date with her.” 

Dorothea shrugged. “It seems to be the thing with you Faerghan boys.” 

He made what was truly an impressive sounding noise of disgust. “Ingrid’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.” 

Three things happened at once: First, Dorothea decided that Felix was alright even if he was abrupt and borderline rude. Second, the sound of the elevator doors hit her ears accompanied by the smell of pizza. Third, Dimitri appeared from one of the hallways as he said, “Felix? Can I actually get one of the--oh Dorothea!”

“Hello, Your Highness,” Dorothea said with a smile. 

Dimitri shook his head as he came to stand beside Felix. “Please, it’s simply Dimitri especially when you’re in our home.” 

Ingrid appeared around the corner, pizza boxes in hand. She glared as soon as she took in the scene. “Felix!”

“This is not my fault,” Felix said before shoving both cans into Dimitri’s large hands and grabbing one of the boxes from her. 

“We were just saying hello,” Dimitri started to say.

Felix took his elbow and started dragging him bodily away from the kitchen, an impressive feat given how much taller and broadly built the prince was than him. “And now we’re going!” he said over his shoulder. 

It was all Dorothea could do not to laugh as soon as they were gone. “Please tell me that you bullied the Crown Prince of Faerghus into hiding in his bedroom for our date.”

Ingrid’s face was once more that charming shade of pink as she dropped the remaining pizza box on the counter. “No! Well, not exactly. I don’t bully Dimitri. It was more an agreed upon thing.”

“Oh?”

“I didn’t really want to go out somewhere tonight because I feel odd about strangers watching any uhm…” Ingrid’s blush deepened and she said the next words in a rush of breath. “Displaysofaffection.” 

Well. Apparently she hadn’t been the only one with kissing on her mind and if nothing else, Dorothea knew how to take a cue. “And what if there are no strangers to be found?” she asked, stepping forward until they were as close as they’d been before the delivery person had so rudely interrupted them by doing their job.

“I guess it would depend on who was here with me,” Ingrid said, leaning ever so slightly towards her even as she grasped the counter edge behind her. 

“I supposed I’d best ask before I pounce then,” Dorothea murmured as she reached behind her, their lips almost touching. It was a bit of a stretch but she felt certain that she could-- “Shall we save you from a hangry fate?” she asked sweetly, holding the pizza box up within the view. 

It was a mean trick and yet she had to press her lips together to suppress her giggles at Ingrid’s look of surprise. “Let me get plates.” 

They settled into the living room with an impressively large and comfortable couch and an even more impressively large television. It seemed almost wasted on the random cooking competition show they’d put on as background noise while they tucked into the pizza. 

“This is from my favorite place,” Ingrid said between bites of pizza. “They get the ratio of sauce to cheese just right and they always put the perfect amount of sausage on here.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to teach me about all of the best places in town?” asked Dorothea. 

Ingrid chewed and swallowed her large mouthful before answering. “Food’s important. I mean, I love eating a good meal and all but it’s good for getting to know people too. And show that you care about them.”

She tilted her head to the left. “Do you mean like when you cook for someone?”

“Yes,” Ingrid said, “and no.” She stared at the baker at the screen who was struggling to temper chocolate. “It’s like… when Sylvain knows I’ve had an awful day and he brings me ribs. Or how Dimitri always tries the cookies Felix’s friend Annette brings over with a smile on his face even though he can’t taste them.”

“It’s a love language,” Dorothea said, the realization dawning upon her. “We each have our own.” 

“What’s yours?” Ingrid asked, grabbing another slice. 

Dorothea tilted her head to the left, taking a sip of water to buy herself time to think. “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s the songs I choose when I know someone I care about is watching.”

“What would you choose if you knew I was in the audience?” 

“Mmm…” Dorothea said, pretending like she hadn’t thought about it already. “Something with depth to it that would convey a sense of hope for more.” 

Ingrid set her now empty plate on the coffee table, taking Dorothea’s from her hands as she made to follow suit. “Are you teasing me again?”

Dorothea wasn’t sure she could handle the thought of teasing herself any longer and so she leaned forward before she could overthink it and pressed her lips against Ingrid’s in a chaste kiss. After a moment, she retreated just far enough for their lips to technically be parted before Ingrid kissed her back in a decidedly less chaste manner which Dorothea was absolutely fine with. She liked how it felt as Ingrid wove her fingers through Dorothea’s own thick, brown hair and she liked how it felt to let her own hands finally settle on Ingrid’s waist and--were those honest to goddess _abs_ hiding underneath that flannel? Oh, now she wanted to take this woman to bed even more than before but for now, kissing her was glorious. 

“I forgot to ask before I pounced,” Dorothea said once she convinced herself to not press Ingrid back against the couch cushions and their lips had parted.

Ingrid smiled, still running her fingers through Dorothea’s hair. “That was pouncing?” 

“That tiniest, babiest of pounces.” 

“I wouldn’t object if you pounced a little more.” 

Who was she to say no to such a lovely request from a beautiful woman? Carefully, Dorothea pressed Ingrid back against one of the plush pillows as she kissed her again, settling partially on top of her. She held Ingrid’s face between both of her hands as she deepened the kiss. It was Ingrid’s turn for her hands to wander, running up and down Dorothea’s back but not quite bold enough to dip any further which was a shame. But this was still the first evening they’d kissed. There would be time enough for that. Ingrid seemed content to take things between them slowly and Dorothea could be too. 

By the time they broke apart again, they were sprawled on the couch with Dorothea fully on top of Ingrid now, their legs twined together. If the weight bothered her, Ingrid didn’t seem to show it which suited Dorothea nicely because she rather liked being there. “You’re beautiful, you know,” Ingrid said, bringing one hand up to brush strands of hair out of her face. 

Dorothea pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Why thank you, darling.” 

Ingrid shook her head. “No, I mean you’re especially beautiful like this. When you drop your own mask.” Dorothea’s mouth dropped open into a perfect o of shock which only made Ingrid grin. “Did you really think I didn’t know you had one too? A woman of the stage and all?” 

She didn’t often find herself speechless and yet… 

“You did it that first night I met you,” Ingrid continued on. “It just took me until the second time we met to realize you had. And then I really wanted to see it again.” 

“Well now I’ll just sound shallow when I admit that I dreamed about your legs,” Dorothea said, making Ingrid laugh. “I’m completely serious! You have no idea how good your legs and your rear look in those tight jeans of yours. It’s enough to make a girl swoon and I just about did!” Ingrid was blushing yet again and so Dorothea leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose before saying, “I told you, I offer my compliments freely to those I care about and I always, _always_ mean them.” 

She shifted, running a hand along Dorothea’s upper arm. “I hope you get used to seeing me blush then.” 

Carefully so she didn’t hurt her, Dorothea moved so she wasn’t on top of the other girl anymore and instead perched on the sofa beside her, resting a hand against her abs. “Ingrid, I feel like I owe you the plainest of truths.”

Ingrid pushed herself up so she was sitting too, displacing Dorothea’s hand. “Is this is where you tell me that you’ve only asked me out to get at--”

“No!” she exclaimed, louder than she meant. “No, it’s not that. It’s…” She trailed off and looked away for a moment, suddenly not sure how to proceed. “I’d be lying if I said your status wasn’t part of what intrigued me at first but mostly, I was interested because I saw a handsome woman who took my breath away. And I wanted to get to know her.”

“Do you still want to?” 

Dorothea jerked her head back up to look at Ingrid. Her mask was back. “Oh Ingrid,” she breathed more than said, reaching for her hand, twining their fingers together. “How could I not?” 

Surging forward, Ingrid captured her lips in another kiss and _how_ they’d gone this long without kissing (oh _fine_ it hadn’t even been two weeks) is a mystery to her. And yet, something about this one managed to feel different. Like they understood each other better now. 

When the kiss ended, Ingrid dryly asked, “Should I start by admitting that I actually hate cooking shows since I can’t eat the food on them?”

Peals of laughter fell freely from Dorothea’s lips. “Then why ever did you put it on?” 

“It seemed a neutral choice?” Ingrid said, reaching forward for a quick drink of water. 

“Okay new plan then.” Dorothea retrieved the remote and pulled up the first streaming service that popped up, silently giggling to herself at the names for each profile which she had a feeling were Sylvain’s work. “Let’s pick something else to watch then. No better way to get to know someone than their Netflix likes, right?” 

“Is this what dating in the modern era is?” asked Ingrid.

“That and selfies,” Dorothea said without missing a beat. 

They both giggled as they resettled themselves on the couch, this time seated so close together that their thighs were touching and their arms brushed against each other every time one of them moved. For the second time, Dorothea readjusted her thinking about what dating Ingrid Galatea was going to be like and then a moment later, she tossed it all out the window. No more expectations. Those had only been upended anyways. 

Still. She was surprised when she awoke the next morning to find that she and Ingrid had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch curled up around each other with Ingrid’s arm flung across her and a mysterious blanket draped across them both. It had been awhile since she’d dropped her guard enough to spend an entire night with a lover and yet something like this felt more intimate than an evening spent without their clothes. 

Carefully, Dorothea tried to slip out from beneath Ingrid’s arm but the only girl only held her tighter. Dorothea murmured in her ear, “I should go.”

Eyes barely open and voice heavy with sleep, Ingrid said, “Stay? Just a little while longer?”

“Alright, I’ll stay,” Dorothea replied, sinking back into the plush cushions and Ingrid’s embrace again. 

She’d stay as long as this gallant and handsome girl wanted her to. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Ingrid! I started writing this fic back in like June of last year and have just been working on it on and off ever since. It... sort of turned into a monstrosity over time because originally, it was just supposed to be a joke/take on that first verse in Paper Rings by Taylor Swift. But here we are! Baby's first modern AU fic!
> 
> A few other assorted things:  
> -I have very obviously and clearly never been high so uhhh forgive any errors there  
> -In case anyone cares, I imagine that Ingrid started out riding hunters/doing the standard horse shows and she's been transitioning into doing three-day eventing in the last few years  
> -I so very desperately wanted to fit in some sort of joke about the boys being like the ghosts of Christmas past/present/future but alas, it did not work. It was probably funnier in my head anyways  
> -I have no apologies for the name of Ingrid's horse


End file.
